Did Mary experience labor pains?

When Mary gave birth to Jesus, what was it like? Did she experience the same anxiety, fear, mess, and pain that any woman can expect when preparing for childbirth? Many people might find this question strange. Of course Mary, being fully human, and not God, would share in all the usual feelings and emotions—both pleasant and unpleasant—associated with bringing a baby into the world. Wouldn’t she? For centuries of church history, many Catholics would have answered this question with a resounding “no,” or at least with a “probably not.” This is because of a complex intertwining of beliefs and theories, some associated with theologies of sin, others associated with ideas about women’s bodies. Even today, there are many Catholics who are appalled at the idea that Mary experienced pain when she gave birth to baby Jesus. On this final episode of this season of the Glad You Asked podcast, the hosts talk to theologian Julia Feder about the background of this tradition, why it has been so popular among some Catholics, what the church actually teaches, and what’s at stake for people trying to assess what they should believe. Feder is the assistant director of the Center for the Study of Spirituality, as well as an associate professor of religious studies and theology at Saint Mary’s College, and is the author of Incarnating Grace: A Theology of Healing from Sexual Trauma (Fordham University Press). Learn more about this topic and read some of Feder’s writing in the links below.  “The Pregnancy of Mary,” by Nathan Schneider https://www.americamagazine.org/issue/pregnancy-mary  “There would have been a midwife at the stable,” by Christine Schenk https://www.ncronline.org/opinion/simply-spirit/there-would-have-been-midwife-stable  “What are we missing in our depictions of the nativity?” by Kelley Nikondeha https://uscatholic.org/articles/202212/what-are-we-missing-in-our-depictions-of-the-nativity/  “Mary, Mary, quite contrary,” by Elizabeth Johnson https://uscatholic.org/articles/201101/mary-mary-quite-contrary/  “Reclaiming the virgin martyrs from purity culture,” by Julia Feder https://uscatholic.org/articles/202302/reclaiming-the-virgin-martyrs-from-purity-culture/  Glad You Asked is sponsored by the Claretian Missionaries. https://claretiansusa.org https://myclaret.org